Material impelling fan



Nov. 7, 1944. WALL 7 2,362,422

MATERIAL IMPELLING FAN Filed July 8, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 7, 1944. J. WALL 2,362,422

MATERIAL IMPELLING FAN Filed July 8, 1945 '2 Shets-Sheet 2 Maj-m1. Izz /z.

' being impelled through the Ian.

A still further object of the invention isthe I portion of the fan casing Patented Nov. 7, 1944 acoaizz MATERIAL mums FAN' James L. Wall, Washington, (3a.,

gird to Claude Norman Jackso a.

assignor of one n, Washington,

Application luly a, 1943, Serial No. 493,894 8 Claims. (01. soc- 37) Thi invention relates to an improved material impelling i'an. r

More particularly, the invention relates to an improved fan construction adapted for installation in planer mills, saw mills, or the like for operation as a pneumatic conveyor for impelling waste material from one point to another through the medium of a continuous blast of air.

A primary object or the invention is the pros vision of a fan for impelling material-from one position toanother, and is so constructed as to preclude contact of the material with the blades of the fan while being impelled therethrough.-

A further object of the invention is the provision of a material impelling fan for drawing material from one position through the fan to the fan being formed to segregate the material and direct it out of range of while air from theinlet of the fan is directed to the center thereof for maintaining the material but of range of the fan blades while provision of a material impelling fan which is of marked simplicity in construction and is capable of ready installation as a pneumatic conveyor for wastematerlal as saw dust or shavings as well as for other materials,.suchas cotton seed, grains, sand. etc.

l'br a more complete understooding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference will be had to the following detailed description, taken "2-2, Fig. 1, with'thgj'bearingsupportbeingobe served in the vertical plane of line 2.-X,.'

Fig. 3 is an elevational view or the, ran" on .a

reduced scale particularly illustrating the sum ability thereof for attachment in angular positions.

of the fan intake portion.

Fig. 4 is an end view Fig. 5. is a section in the plane of line plane of line M, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a partial transverse section in the plane ofline l-I. Fig. 1.. 2

Referring nowin detail to the drawings by use ll designates the main of reference characters,

or housing. Themain' an inlet portion ll and housing portion includes an exhaust portion i2. The housing further inchides a removable side plate is retained in position by a ring l3 removably secured to the main portion. I

Unitary'with or rigidly secured to the plate 13 is an air'deflector in the form of a curved conduit H. The deflector conduit ll at one end there- 10- other end thereof opens into the lower arcuate of opens into the center of plate is co-axially portion it of the intake II.

The peripheral portion of the housing includes an arcuate' iwall l8 which, as indicated at l1, terbeyond the point in connection with the accompanying drawings,

'8 is a partial transverse section in the iormity of the 'tiallyof the internal seen in Fig. l, the outer edges of the blades arev in'closely spaced relation to the wall minates at the advancewall of the conduit l4, and the peripheral portion further includes an arcuate wall II which terminates substantially I I, as indicated at I9.

, 'l'lie walls 10 and it are concentric, but the former is of greater radius than the latter, thereby providing a material inlet passage 20 separated from the air inlet to conduit H by the wall IS.

A suitable support 2| is provided and which preferably includes legs 22 in each of which is supported a bearing 23 for the fan shaft 24 which extends through an aperture 25 in the fan housing to the interior thereof. A pulley M is preferably secured to shaft 24 for driving same.

'. -A union coupling 26 is preferably provided for effecting separation of the housing and'sup'port or relative'adjustment thereof rotatively of shaft 24. Secured to the innerend of the shaft 24 is the hub 21 of a fan embodying a plurality of spokes 28,

Asia more clearly shownin Fig. 1, the blades 20 are concave in the direction of rotation thereof-and-have their convex sides substantially tanvance oftheir inner edges.

The blades as indicated'in Fig. 2 are substanwidth of the housing, and as II but are substantially spaced'i'rom-the wall It for a purpose later to appear. The wall It is preferably-of .sleater extent than the spacing between two blades.

, The housing inlet il free end, as indicated in Fig. 4, for connection with a tubular conduit, and since it is essential that the outer. wall of the inlet be flat in conwith the wall I. for proper distribution material, the inlet gradually merges'from the tubular form at itsfree end through the forms indicated at Ila, lib, and lie in Figs. 5.

to each of which is secured a blade 29.

is preferably tubular at its 8, and 7, respectively, the inner wall of Fig. 5 being fiat in conformity with the adjacent end oi the conduit Id.

The operation of the improved fan construction is as follows: The fan blades 29 are revolved in a counter-clockwise direction, all and solids being handled are drawn into the intake H and forced out of the exhaust l2 by the air pressure developed by the rotating blades.

The travel of the air is in the direction shown intake, the solids are segregated, but due to their momentum under the action or the air current they are directed into the passage while the air enters the deflecting conduit I4 and is admitted to the center of the fan, wherei'rom it is directed outwardly by the arcuate blades, as indicated by arrows in Fig. l, for impelling as well as maintaining the solids beyond the outer edges of the blades 28, from which they are discharged through the outlet I 2.

By means of the imion coupling 28 the fan may be supported vertically as in Figs. 1 and 2 or angularly as in Fig. 3, thereby adapting the fan for installation in various positions.

The characteristic feature of my invention is the provision of a material impelling ian embodying a casing or housing including a fan enclosing portion, intake and exhaust portions, and solid material segregating and air'defiecting portions, whereby the solids drawn into the intake portion in air suspension are segregated for passage through the'tan-enclosing portion outwardly of the outer edges of the fan blades, while the major volume of air admitted through the intake portion is deflected through the conduit It to the axial center of'the fan. The particular arcuate form of the fan blades provides for deflection o! the air from the center of the fan or housing-outpo on 01' the housing, whereby the solids are maintained adjacent the wall it as well as circumrerentially impelled through the housing from the inlet passage 2| to the exhaust 12.

While I appreciate the fact that fans have heretofore'been proposed for maintaining solids out oi contact with the fan bladesduring passage therethrough, nevertheless the structure herein disclosed provides for maximum eiiiciency in this respect with a minimum of cooperating struc-' tural elements. and the fan is fully capable of use with waste solids such as saw dust or shavings as .lell as with solids, such as various grains, sand, and the like.

While I have disclosed but a single specific embodiment of my invention, such is to be considered as illustrative only, and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined, in the sub-joined claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by U. 8. Letters Patent is: a 1. A material impelling fan construc ion comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions communicating therewith, the fan enclosing housing portion having side walls and an arcuate peripheral wall, a ian rotatably supported within the fan enclosins housing portion and including blades whose outer ends are in substantial spaced relation to said peripheral wall, an air deflecting conduit communicating withsaid intake housingportion r y and circumferentially oi! the fan enclosing merging into an exhaust housing portion,

housing further including an inlet portion in and with said tan enclosing housing portion centrally oi the fan, and a material inlet passage between said intake housing portion and said fan enclosing housing portion immediately within said arcuate peripheral wall for admitting solids within said arcuatewall, the air admitted at the center of the fan being directed outwardly thereby for impelling the solids through the fan enclosing housing portion and maintaining same out of range of the fan blades.

2. A fan construction for impelllng solids from one position to another comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion having an arcuate peripheral wall of substantial circumferential extent and having a free end, the fan enclosing housing portion further including a relatively short arcuate peripheral wall radially inwardly of said first arcuate wall and havinga free end portion lapping the free end or the first wall in the provision of a solids inlet passage to the fan enclosing housing portion, the said arcuate walls communication with said passage, a fan rotatably supported within said fan enclosing housing portion, and an air deflecting conduit communicating with said inlet housing portion and the Ian enclosing housing portion at the center of the fan. 4

3. A fan construction according to claim 2, wherein said solids inlet passage is spaced radially inwardly of the end of said air deflecting conduit in communication with said inlet housing portion and separated therefrom by the free end portion of said first arcuate wall.

4. A fan construction for impelling solids from one position to another, comprising" a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions. the first portion including laterally spaced side walls and arcuate peripheral walls, a tan rotatably supported in the first portion concentric with said peripheral walls, the exhaust portion being in communication with said .ilrst portion, the said peripheral walls being rainlet portion radially outwardly of the solids inlet passage and separated therefrom by the outermost one oi. said peripheral walls, the said inlet portion merging into the innermost of. said arcuate walls through an arcuate bottom wall portion below the communicating end of said air defiecting conduit for collecting the solids and deflecting same into said inlet passage.

5. A fan construction for impelling solids from one position to another, comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions, the first portion including laterally spaced side walls and arcuate peripheral walls, a tan rotatably supported in the first portion concentric with said peripheral walls, the exhaust portion being in communication with said first portion, the said peripheral walls being radially spaced for providing a solids inlet pas-' most one of said peripheral walls,.one of said side walls beingremovably attached to said housing, and said air deflecting conduit being rigidly supported by the removable side wall.

6. A fan construction for impelling solids from one position to another, comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions, the first portion including laterally spaced side walls and arcuate peripheral first portion at the center of the fan and communicating at the other end thereof with the inlet portion radially outwardly of the solids inlet passage and separated therefrom by the outermost one of said peripheral walls, said fan including ciicumferentially spaced blades with the outer edges thereof substantially spaced from the outermost of said arcuate walls and in closely spaced relation to the innermost of said arcuate walls, and the circumferential extent of the innermost of said arcuate walls being substantially less than that of the outermost and being slightly greater than the circumferential spacing of the outer edges of the fan blades.

7. A fan construction for impelling solids from one position to another, comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions, the first'portion' including laterally spaced side walls and arcuate peripheral walls, a fan rotatably supported in the first por- 4 tion concentric with said peripheral walls, the exhaust portion being in communication with said first portion, the said peripheral walls being radially spaced for providing a solids inlet pas-- sage to the first portion and being in communication with the inletportion, and an air deflecting conduit communicating at one .end thereof with the first portion at the center of the fan andl communicating. at the other end thereof with; the inlet portion radially outwardly of the solids inlet passage and separated therefrom by the outermost one of said peripheral walls, said fan comprising a hub portion, spokes radiating from the hub portion, and arcuate blades substantially rectangular in plan secured to said spokes, said blades having their concave portions disposed in the direction of rotation of the fan and their outer edges circumferentia'lly in advance of their inne'r edges.

8. A fan construction for impelling solids from one position to another, comprising a housing including a fan enclosing portion and inlet and exhaust portions, the first portion including laterally spaced side walls and arcuate peripheral walls, a fan rotatably supported in the first portion concentric with said peripheral walls, the

exhaust portion being in communication with said first portion,..the said peripheral walls being radially spaced for providing a solids inlet passage to the first portion and being in communication with the inlet portion, and an air deflecting conduit communicating at one end thereof with the first portion at the center of the fan and comwhich in turn merges into the innermost of said arcuate peripheral walls.

JAMES L. WALL. 

